


The Triple Crown

by LexiDean



Category: Falling Skies
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Rock Bands, Documentary!AU, F/M, Gen, alternate universe - no aliens, band!au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-01
Updated: 2015-02-04
Packaged: 2018-03-09 22:23:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3266540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LexiDean/pseuds/LexiDean
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Triple Crown, the holy trinity of music festivals, not many bands perform in all three these days, but this year, for the first time in nearly a decade, there are three bands performing in all three. An up and coming filmmaking team knows that this is the opportunity they have been waiting for, so after some begging and pleading with the record label all three bands are under, they set off to follow the bands for three months. AKA, a Falling Skies Band!AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Brazil

**Author's Note:**

> Based off of this tumblr post (http://mywaitingtobewritten.tumblr.com/post/108786186064/i-also-kinda-wanna-write-a-falling-skies-band-au)

**I. Brazil**

In which we meet the bands.

* * *

 

The Triple Crown, is the holy trinity of music festivals – or at least it used to be. It used to be that every year there would be at least one band or artist that would perform at all three festivals, musicians used to carry it on their sleeves like a badge of honor and it used to be a bucket list item on everyone’s list. Then the accident happened that left a member of The Berserkers, who were headlining the final leg, dead on the stage. That was three years ago and no artist has attempted the Triple Crown sense. That’s all changing this summer though, not one, not two, but three different bands are set to perform every leg of the trinity, something that hasn’t happened in nearly a decade. To say that Jimmy Boland and Denny Thompson, two up and coming filmmakers, and music enthusiasts (they first met at Brazil, the first leg of the Triple Crown five years ago), are more than excited that this is happening is an understatement. To say that they’re terrified that they are going to be following two of the three bands for the three months that the festivals take place in to make a documentary, that is a bit more accurate. 

* * *

 

The moment they announced that all three bands announced that they were performing in all three legs of the Triple Crown, all the tickets for ever festival sold out. Jimmy and Denny were just glad that they’d managed to get tickets through Militia Records, the label that all three bands are under. That being said, having secure tickets didn’t make it any less stressful and anxiety inducing for the two of them to enter the venue for the first leg, entitled Brazil, the day of the concert.

“I can’t believe this is really happening.” Denny says to Jimmy as she throws her bag with extra batteries and memory cards over her shoulder, holding up her camera in the other hand, while Jimmy grabs his equipment from the car.

“It is going to be so awesome!” Jimmy says slamming the trunk of the van as the two of them start to walk towards the arena. “I know we don’t get to follow the Berserkers, but still we get to be in the tour buses with the Fighting Masons, and Skitter Bait, this is going to make our careers Den!”

“Only if we can get enough courage to actually go in the doors.” Denny laughs.

The two of them stand in front of the doors for a few moments and then look at each other and smile, opening the doors and walking in. The first thing that hits them about the venue is that someone is playing music somewhere. It sounds like a piano with some kind of synthesizer under it. Jimmy pulls out his camera and starts recording while the two of them are walking. As they get closer to the stage they discover the source of the music, which in hindsight seems blatantly obvious. On the stage Lourdes Delgado and Maggie Parker, the duo that makes up Skitter Bait, an Indie Alt Rock group that has been taking festivals by storm since they first came on the scene last summer. Lourdes is at her keyboard going over part of a song with Maggie and the two seem incredibly focused. Maggie sees them first. She was walking over to her electric guitar, which was resting on an amp when she notices Jimmy’s huge camera, and realizes that these filmmakers are finally here.

“Lo, the filmmakers are here.” Maggie says to her partner. Lourdes stops playing immediately and looks up, offering both Denny and Jimmy a soft and kind smile. “I’ll got get everyone else.” Maggie walks backstage and returns less than thirty seconds later with eight other people.

Jimmy and Denny walk quickly up on to the stage to greet everyone. They only met with Tom Mason and Anne Glass, the lead executives of Militia and John Pope, the lead singer of the Berserkers during their project negotiations, and the two young film makers find themselves star struck. The Berserkers are practically rock gods, and the fact that they’re back touring was enough for Denny and Jimmy to make sure this documentary was going to happen.

“Hi everybody.” Denny starts. “My name is Denny and this is Jimmy and we will be following you and filming for our documentary as you complete the Triple Crown!” She’s excited, and all of them can see it. While most of the hardened Berserkers just stand there emotionless (with the exception of Anthony, as always), all three Fighting Masons, and Lourdes look incredibly excited. Maggie’s face is just as serious, but if anyone ever asks Jimmy will say that the corners of her mouth are turned up just enough to hint at a smile.

“It’s great to meet you, I’m Lourdes, and that’s Maggie. Sorry about not saying Hi when you first showed up, the arrangement is killing me.” Lourdes says with a small, her head motioning towards her keyboard. Maggie just nods at the two filmmakers. They both know from the interviews with Skitter Bait that Maggie is not the vocal one of the duo, so they are not surprised.

“Ben Mason.” The lead singer of the Fighting Masons says stepping forward and holding out a hand to Denny, she shakes and soon after Ben’s older and younger brother step up and do the same.

“Hal Mason.” The lead guitarist, who sometimes splits vocals with his younger brother.

“Matt Mason.” The drummer.

Denny’s smile gets brighter and brighter as she meets each boy, Jimmy already knows that she’s going to be on their tour bus with them. She’s been freaking out about the Fighting Masons ever since they managed to convince their Dad to give them a record deal and released a single last fall.

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Anthony, that’s Pope, Crazy Lee, Tector, and Lyle.” Anthony, one of the guitarists, who has a scar across his face from the accident that claimed their band member’s life, says with a smile. The rest of the Berserkers just nod.

“Believe me when I say that it is a dream come true meeting all of you.” Jimmy says, smiling, and still recording with the camera. “As per your contracts we will only be filming Berserkers concerts and interactions with the other groups and Denny and I will be joining the Fighting Masons and Skitter Bait on their tour buses respectively.”

“I’ll be with the Fighting Masons, and Jimmy will be with Skitter Bait. We’ll leave you to get warmed up now, and we are really looking forward to working with all of you.” Denny smiles again.

“It’s going to be great.” Hal says as they all start to walk off the stage 

Jimmy turns off his camera and he starts to follow them off stage to get more footage. Denny stays on the stage a little bit longer, she can’t help but wish that the Berserkers would’ve been more excited, but there is a bigger part of her that is just glad that they’re touring again.

* * *

 

Backstage is a nightmare. There are nearly a dozen acts performing in the Brazil Festival, and everyone is running around backstage trying to make sure that all their equipment is where it needs to be. Jimmy is trying to follow around Skitter Bait, but after almost walking in on Lourdes changing, he’s taken to just sitting outside of their dressing room while they’re getting reading and the Fighting Masons are performing.

Denny on the other hand has been following around the Mason brothers without a second thought or glance at anything they’ve done. She’s been sitting in the wings filming their whole set, which is just about to be over, and Jimmy knows she has to be fighting every urge to not sing every word out loud as they perform.

It isn’t until the Fighting Masons are singing the last song of their set that Jimmy sees either member of Skitter Bait. Lourdes walks out onto the stage right as the first chorus of _Icarus_ starts playing, and Jimmy nods to her as he turns the camera closer to her face.

“This is my favorite of their songs.” Lourdes says to the camera, smiling as she moves to stand more in the wings so she can watch the performance.

Jimmy turns his camera so it is focused on Lourdes and her watching the Fighting Masons play, it’ll make for an interesting shot he knows, and even more interesting footage as Lourdes sways back and forth with the music, he only hopes that his camera picks up her voice singing along softly

While he is not as obsessed with the Fighting Masons as Denny is, he cannot deny that they have a definite presence, one that the crowd is responding very well to. When the three brothers sing the chorus together it’s heaven, and when Ben steps out in front of them to sing the very last lines, it makes an even bigger impact. The crowd screams at the top of their longs as the lights go down and the brothers flood off stage 

Lourdes congratulates all three brother, it’s their first festival tour, and if anyone knows how hard it is to break into the Festival circuit it is Lourdes Delgado, it is after all, how Skitter Bait got their start to begin with. Jimmy stands back and keeps the camera rolling, just long enough to get some footage that he and Denny will hopefully be able to use. That’s how he gets the look that passes between Lourdes and Hal on camera, it’s soft and subtle, a blink if you miss it moment, but it’s enough to make Jimmy think that maybe the gossip rags have something right for once, because it definitely seems to him that there is something there…

* * *

 

When Skitter Bait gets to their final song of their set, Denny and Jimmy recognize the song immediately. Once they hear Maggie singing “Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,” and the keyboard playing the same note over and over again, they know that this is the song they were working on earlier. The more they sing the more captivating it gets. Which is, in all reality Skitter Bait’s prerogative. Maggie and Lourdes do not look like two people who would be friends, much less sing together in a wildly successful band, but once they start singing it becomes so captivating it starts to make a little bit more sense. Their voices come together in perfect complement, and the pain in both their voices makes it clear that they may have more in common than they have every vocalized in any interview.

Jimmy and Denny, along with everyone else (including all three Mason brothers who have been hanging out back stage every moment sense they finished their set) are completely captivated, and when Lourdes sings the last words of their song softly, the crowd doesn’t notice it’s over until her and Maggie echo the last “oh, oh, oh.” The entire venue is silent for just a minute before they erupt into wild cheers. Lourdes walks out from behind her keyboard and moves towards Maggie the two grab hands, and smiling (Jimmy can’t help but think of how small Maggie’s smile is) they take a bow and run off stage just as the lights go dark.

Hal wraps his arms around Lourdes so quickly that Denny almost doesn’t turn her camera in time (she manages to just catch the end of it).

“That turned out so awesome LoMag!” Hal says, releasing Lourdes and giving Maggie a shoulder squeeze. The other brothers nod in agreement.

“It’s all Lo.” Maggie says softly. “If she hadn’t come up with that opening this morning it would not have been nearly as awesome.” She nudges her partner in the shoulder, pushing her ever so slightly closer to Hal.

“Thanks Maggs.” Lourdes says, smiling a little bit, she looks more distracted than anything else. “I’m going to go back to the dressing room, I have to call someone.”

“Yeah of course.” Hal says, Ben and Matt nod along with him. It’s weird, most would think that Ben is the leader of the group because he’s the front man, but it is becoming increasingly clear that Hal is the true leader, probably, Jimmy thinks, because he is the oldest brother.

“I’ll go with you.” Maggie says, and the two girls walk off towards the dressing room.

Maggie turns her head and smiles apologetically towards us and the boys, signaling with her hands that this is not the time to follow them. Jimmy and Denny turn to look at each other, knowing not to press the issue and that if it doesn’t come out what is going on they’ll just cut the footage. Jimmy looks away and he turns of his camera, to just sit and enjoy the chaos that is backstage for a moment. He can’t help but think that there is something there, something that maybe relates to why Lourdes and Maggie’s voices have the same pain when they’re singing, he only hopes that they’ll find out what it is before the Triple Crown is over.

 

* * *

Lourdes and Maggie make it back to the backstage area right as the Berserkers are finishing their final song of their encore. It’s a new song and the crowd is loving it.

“I’m back in the saddle again  
I’m back.” John Pope sings, almost screams looking and pointing to everyone in the crowd. Pope does not look like the type of man that could sing well, but there’s something about the rough edge in his voice that makes everyone in the audience go crazy.

By the time they hit the last lines everyone is joining in, even Lyle on the drums who is widely known by fans and other artists as being completely unable to sing. This song means something to them, it isn’t like the hits that they wrote in a garage decades ago about trying to be famous, it is about them coming back and staying around. It is the perfect way to end their first performance since the accident.

“Ridin’ high  
Ridin’ high  
Ridin’ high already.” They finish singing together the music fades off and the lights go down and everyone in the crowd shrieks and screams.

When they rush off stage all of the band members except for Anthony and Tector practically run off to the dressing room, but the two guitarist stay and look at Jimmy and Denny like they are waiting for them to start rolling on them and ask questions. Denny and Jimmy do just that.

“When Tom told us about this documentary all of us were hesitant to do it. We aren’t like the Masons, we aren’t young guys just hitting the game, and we aren’t like Lourdes and Maggie, who’s music is probably compelling enough for a documentary just about them.” Tector says. “We haven’t been on tour or come up with new music in three years because of what happened to Dai. It was always going to be too soon, and we decided to do the Triple Crown one more time as a way to honor him.”

“We didn’t want to make this a glorified quest for closure after the loss of a friend so we told Tom and Anne we didn’t want to be too involved, that we would rather take a back seat to the new talent who haven’t done this before.” Anthony buts in. “This song, this song is the first step on a long journey for all of us, and we are glad that someone is here to record it happening, but we also are glad that everyone and there mother is not going to be able to watch us go every moment of the tour.”

“We really just wanted to make it very clear, because no offense to y’all but we are not going to be talking to you one on one very often, that this is for Dai, this is to honor his life, in the truest rock star fashion, by completing the Holy Trinity.”

Jimmy and Denny smile and cut the recording. The look in both their eyes shows the two young filmmakers just how hard this was for them, and they both can’t help but think of putting in something about making this for Dai in the credits as the two bandmates walk away to their dressing room.


	2. Charleston

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we learn a little bit more (okay a lot a bit more) about the Fighting Masons and Skitter Bait, and some people sing Moulin Rouge on top of a table.

The days that Jimmy and Denny spent with the Fighting Masons and Skitter Bait on the bus traveling to the Charleston City Music Festival are long and grueling. The bus rides are boring and for the most part uneventful. When both buses break down right outside of Raleigh, North Carolina, leaving both bands and the film makers stuck in a hotel for most of the day before the Charleston Music Fest. Denny and Jimmy managed to convince both bands to answer some questions for them by bribing them with nothing but pizza and candy.

They set up the cameras in the girls’ hotel, deciding it was better to try and interview both groups at the same time so the audience can get a sense of how the two groups interact with each, granted they had enough footage for it without an interview.

“So we’ll start with fun questions and then we’ll move on from there into some more serious stuff maybe?” Denny says, her voice a little bit hesitant as Jimmy presses record on the camera. Everyone nods back at her and Denny smiles back at them. “Favorite movie?”

Matt answers first, he’s sitting to the farthest left, and it makes sense to go in order to the young filmmakers. “Guardians of the Galaxy.”

“Revenge of the Body Snatchers.” Ben says next.

“Die Hard.” Hal says, well he starts to say, before he can finish Lourdes smacks him softly on the arm.

“He’s lying.” Lourdes says. “His favorite movie is Moulin Rouge he just never admits it because apparently it isn’t manly enough.”

“…Lo, you’re confused, Moulin Rouge is your favorite movie.” Hal answers, smirking.

“Incorrect, my favorite movie is Dirty Dancing.” Lourdes says back, raising an eyebrow at him.

“My favorite movie is Big Hero 6, probably because Isaiah loves that movie so much.” Maggie says. It’s the most words Denny or Jimmy have heard he say on camera in one sentence. She’s usually the most soft spoken of the group, and they can always tell that she is taking time to think over her words carefully before saying them.

“Favorite song that you sing?” Jimmy asks, both him and Denny trying to ignore the spat happening between Lourdes and Hal that seems to just be a battle of eyebrows.

“Things We Lost in the Fire.” Matt says quickly, without a second thought. Jimmy and Denny don’t know if it is because of his age that he is answering so quickly or if he just really thinks about his answers, all they know is that it’s annoying to Ben that he answers so quickly because it does not give him enough time to think.

“Pompeii.” Ben says, after a moment of thinking.

“Laughter Lines.” Hal says. His eyes shift to Lourdes for just a second, and the moment he sees Denny looking at him he just looks down and starts rubbing his neck nervously.

“Definitely Spectrum.” Lourdes says, looking at Hal a little bit, and suddenly becoming very self-conscious of the fact that her hand is still resting on his from where she smacked him just moments before.

“Breath of Life.” Maggie says without a second thought.

“How did your band get together?” Denny asks. It’s a questions that both bands have answered in varying levels of detail after they entered the spotlight. But neither band has given a full origin story. As Denny asks the question Jimmy remembers the vision board that he and Denny made when they started talking to Militia Records. It may or may not have included the biggest post-it they could find that just had ‘ORIGIN STORIES’ written in all caps.

“It was after Mom died.” Matt says, his age shows as soon as his voice gets quite.

Everyone knows about the passing of Rebecca Mason, it isn’t every day that the incredibly successful producer of a multi-million dollar record label’s wife gets diagnosed with Brain Cancer, and then ends up dying on the table during a tumor removal surgery. It may have happened almost five years ago, but that doesn’t make the blow any less hard, particularly for Matt, who was eleven when their mother passed.

“Ben wouldn’t leave his room, he was just reading _Harry Potter_ all the time. Matt was starting to do worse in school, and he stopped talking to a lot of his friends. I stopped going to lacrosse practice, it wasn’t worth it for me to play the games if Mom couldn’t come to see them.” Hal says, looking up at the camera again.

“On one of the days that Dad actually got me to go to school, I hear drums playing in the basement. So I walked downstairs and saw Matt playing his old drum set. The one that he hadn’t played since Mom got sick.” Ben says.

“And then when I got back from school I heard both of them playing, and not only were they just jamming, but they were playing Mom’s favorite song. So of course I joined them.” Hal buts in. He’s starting to smile a bit more now.

“And then Dad showed up and it turned out he was watching us the whole time.” Matt says.

“After that point we just had to convince him.” Ben finishes the story, all three of them are smiling, and yes, there is a sadness in their smiles. But what both Denny, Jimmy, and probably all three Masons know is more important is that something good and happy came out of that sadness.

Jimmy and Denny turn to look at Lourdes and Maggie, both of them were so wrapped up in the Mason’s story that they had not even looked at the two women until this moment. Now that they are looking at them though, they can see the nervousness in both their eyes, and they can see the worry and concern that is aimed directly at Lourdes in Maggie’s.

“We don’t have to tell them everything if you don’t want to Lo. We can just tell them the basics.” Maggie says, rubbing the shoulders of her partner, who is nervously scratching at the sleeves of her sweater, like she is trying to scratch something underneath.

“Maggs, it’s time, we need to do this. I need to do this. We need to do this.” Lourdes looks at Maggie and Maggie gives her a soft smile and keeps rubbing her shoulders. “Maggie and I met in rehab.” Lourdes says, and she pulls up the sleeves of her sweater to show the camera, and the filmmakers the scars from the track marks that still litter her arms. “My boyfriend, I guess fiancé, because he’d just proposed – we were walking back from dinner in the City and we got jumped. The muggers shot him and the police came before they had a chance to do anything to me. He died in my arms.” She takes a deep breath and Maggie just keeps rubbing her shoulders. Hal moves his hand so it is wrapped around Lourdes’s hand, giving her a tight squeeze every now and then when he thinks she needs it most. “I needed a way to escape from the pain. I got fired from my job teaching piano to little kids, my parents threatened to kick me out of the house, and I got arrested with possession charges. It was part of my sentence to go to rehab, but it was the push I needed to actually get clean.” She looks up from the floor and into the camera, offering a soft smile. The pain in her eyes and in her voice when she sings makes sense now.

“I was in for LCD and ecstasy.” Maggie begins, still rubbing Lourdes’ shoulders to comfort her. “I’d just found out I was pregnant with Isaiah, and decided that was the best reason I could ever have to get clean. The father didn’t agree, but that didn’t matter to me, so I got clean for my baby. Lourdes and I met in a group therapy session one day and we started to talk about music, and then when we got out all of this happened.”

“You should show them a picture of my godson.” Lourdes says, moving her hand from Hal’s to reach over Maggie and grab her phone.

Maggie takes the phone from Lourdes and starts digging through it until she finds a picture that is acceptable. She holds it up to the camera, it’s of her and a two-year-old boy, whose hair is the same shade of blonde as her own, and who has the brightest green eyes that Jimmy and Denny have ever seen.

“It sucks being away from him so much, he’s why Lo and I try to perform in Boston and around that area as much as we can, but he loves Lo’s mom and she loves him, so it could be worse.” Maggie shrugs her shoulders and smiles.  

* * *

 

The Charleston City Music Festival is the only leg of the Triple Crown that the Berserkers are not headlining. Espehni Records, the label that started sponsoring all three legs about five years ago, is insisting upon one of their artists, one that lives in Charleston, headlining. So instead of the Berserkers, Karen (yes, just one name, no one really knows why), will be performing the last and headlining spot of the festival.

Jimmy and Denny have already decided in one of the skype production meetings they had while traveling across the country, that they were going to try and avoid getting any of Karen in the documentary, particularly after the nasty break up that her and Hal went through about a year ago (involving the usual things, cheating, betrayal, devastation, and at least on Hal’s side heartbreak).

“Remember Hal, the tempo gets a lot faster here, so just go really quick on your guitar to the temp change.” Lourdes says to Hal, playing the part she’s talking about on her keyboard at the right tempo just to make sure he gets what she’s telling him. Skitter Bait and The Fighting Masons are singing a song together tonight, one that they’ve all been working on via Jimmy and Denny’s skype production meetings, and they’re finally ready to debut it.

Hal moves his hand to rub the back of his neck as he smiles and nods at Lourdes, showing her that he gets it. Lourdes looks up at him and smiles right back, going back to playing some keys on the keyboard at the same tempo.

Jimmy smiles to Denny and gives her a thumbs up from where she is filming Matt, Ben, and Maggie goofing off into microphones. The two of them may or may not have a bet going as to whether or not the two of them are dating or at least will be dating soon.

“Hal Mason! Long time no see!” Karen (her last name cannot be found anywhere, Denny even tried hacking some government databases, only to come up with nothing) shouts as she walks up on to the stage.

“Hi Karen.” Hal says quietly, inching closer to Lourdes, trying to disappear behind her and avoid his ex.

“When I saw your band on the act list for Charleston, I just knew I would have to get on the list too. We should all catch up.” Karen says happily, almost as if the tragic break up that almost everyone remembers wrecking Hal Mason’s world was a thing that happened ten years ago, not almost thirteen months ago.

“Hi I’m Lourdes.” Lourdes says, moving in front of Hal, to let him physically use her as a shield, despite their height difference “I think we met at some award show last year.”

“Yeah I think we did, you’re in Skitter Bait right?” Karen asks, swaying, trying to get a closer look at Hal, who is crouching down and trying to hide under the actual keyboard now.

“Yupp it’s me and Maggie, who’s over there with the rest of the Masons. Hal and I actually need to get back to working on this part for our song tonight, but we all can meet back up at the after party tonight?”

“Yeah sure.” Karen says. Smiling and walking backstage.

“Thank you, I owe you.” Hal says, standing up so he’s right behind Lourdes. She just turns around to face him, realizes how close they are, doesn’t move and smiles. It takes a few seconds of the two of them just looking to each other but eventually she starts playing the keyboard again. 

* * *

 

Later that night at the end of Skitter Bait’s set the Fighting Masons run on stage and the crowd goes wild. Turns out that Denny and Jimmy are not the only ones speculating about whether or not Hal and Lourdes are dating, turns out basically the whole world is speculating, and every time the two of them appear anywhere together and their fans find out about it, they go crazy. The two of them singing on stage together, that’s almost too much.

Two seconds after the Fighting Masons run on to the stage the two bands start playing, the small drum kit set up on the stage makes a lot more sense to everyone now. After they finish the first verse, Lourdes stops playing the keyboard for a second and runs over to the wings, dragging Jimmy and Denny back on to stage with her, cameras and all.

They keep playing the song and singing their hearts out, the crowd is clapping and a few of them are starting to sing along with the repetitive chorus. Jimmy and Denny being dragged left and right on the stage by every member of each band so they get the full experience of performing. Both of them know that it is going to make some awesome shots for the documentary.

It is towards the end of the song, when they’re starting on the last and final chorus that Jimmy notices just how close Lourdes and Hal are standing to each other. At some point during the performance Hal moved to Lourdes’ keyboard, and swung his guitar on its strap around his back and was standing over her, his hands over her hands playing the keys with her. Both of them smiling like they’d just one the lottery. Jimmy zoomed in on them, knowing that Denny would get the crowd’s reaction to the end of the upbeat song, and knowing that no matter which one of them won their bet that they would want this in the film 

“So I, I bet my life, I bet my life  
I bet my life on you  
I, I bet my life, I bet my life  
I bet my life on you” 

* * *

 

If the Triple Crown festival had a national sport it would be Beer Pong. That’s what Denny and Jimmy learn at the Charleston after-party. After Brazil there had been a Beer Pong tournament, that was band against band. Tector and Anthony ended up winning there, to no one’s real surprise. At Charleston however, they were mixing everything up. It was a competition of inter-band partners. Denny, Jimmy, and really the rest of the people at the party were completely captivated by an intense match between Maggie and Ben against Hal and Lourdes.

“If I make this shot, you have two have to sing the Elephant Medley from _Moulin Rouge_ after this game is over.” Maggie says to Hal and Lourdes, holding her ping pong ball steadily in one hand.

Lourdes and Hal look at each other and whisper for a few seconds. Jimmy has one of their smaller cameras with him, but he isn’t really recording anything. There’s something about the sanctity of an after party that shouldn’t be touched by a documentary camera. The two converse for about a minute looking back and forth at each other and then at Maggie and Ben, trying to decide if it is a good decision or not.

“You’re on.” Lourdes says smiling and moving to jump on Hal’s back. Both of them move back and forth across their end of the table trying to distract Maggie and Ben. Lourdes and Hal only have one cup left, and with the added bet, this is make it or break it time for them. Hal also may or may not be getting a bit drunk (he’s been drinking for Lourdes).

Maggie makes the shot and both Hal and Lourdes fall to the ground dramatically and start to make joking groans in response to their defeat. After about thirty seconds or so of this, and Maggie and Ben just raising their eyebrows at both of them they stand up and all four of them (plus Matt) start laughing like maniacs. Pope is sitting on a huge chair that is lined up with the center of the table and just rolls his eyes at the shenanigans.

“Hal to you want go with me up against Rick and Lyle?” Karen asks Hal, walking over to where everyone is laughing and breaking up the laughter, at least from Ben, almost immediately.

“No thanks Karen, I have to go sing a song from my favorite movie with this one.” He says, grabbing Lourdes and placing her on top of the table they were just playing Beer Pong on and she can’t stop laughing. He joins her quickly after and starts singing Ewan McGregor’s part without a second thought.

Jimmy and Denny both can’t help but remember Hal saying that he didn’t like _Moulin Rouge_ the other day and they start to get why Maggie made this bet in the first place. Hal and Lourdes are good at acting together, and their voices sound even better together. They knew this a little bit, from their performance earlier in the day, but now, when it is just the two of them together, it becomes even more clear.

Jimmy turns on the small camera he brought with him and points it towards where Lourdes and Hal are standing on the table, pressing record quickly. He knows that everyone and their mother will want to see this, and it makes for perfect documentary fodder 

“Love lifts us up where we belong!  
Where eagles fly,  
On a mountain high!” Hal sings, dramatically towards Lourdes, throwing his arms up in the air and swaying a little bit. 

“Love makes us act like we are fools.  
Throw our lives away,  
For one happy day.” Lourdes sings back, taking steps closer to Hal so they are standing directly in front of each other.

Hal moves to step behind her and grabs her hands softly. “We could be heroes!!!” He moves their hands so they are up above the both of them. He sings the line much more dramatically than it is meant to be sung, but the smile on Lourdes face says it all, it doesn’t matter if he’s singing it overly dramatically, he’s still singing it to her.

* * *

 

Maggie, Lourdes, and Matt are the only three people that aren’t hung-over in the morning. Jimmy hazily films everyone moving around at breakfast, knowing that the hangover is just part of the rock star life they are trying to document. Even hazy, it only takes a few seconds for him to zoom in on Lourdes and Hal, who are sitting together at the breakfast table in the hotel. Lourdes is pushing a mug of coffee closer and closer to Hal, trying to get him to drink, which is just resulting in him whispering something in her ear that keeps making her laugh.

When their eggs, bacon, waffles, sausage, and toast finally arrive at the table, Hal finally starts to drink the coffee and he wraps his arm around Lourdes and pulls her a little bit closer as they start to dig in. Denny and Jimmy look at each other, they’ll probably analyze it later, when they get a minute alone at some point. For now, Denny just sneaks a picture of the two of them looking as cute as two peas in a pod, and Jimmy just keeps filming the two of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is actually the second version of this chapter that I wrote. I wrote a version of this that involved a much more confrontational Karen, but then I looked at it again and I am a lot happier with this version. I hope y’all liked and feel free to share your thoughts in terms of kudos, comments, and subscriptions if ya want. :)


	3. The 2nd Mass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which announcements are made, songs are sung, and there is one last concert to be had.

“I’m so glad that all of you could make it to dinner tonight. It must be nice to be back home.” Tom Mason says, about a month later, when all of the bands have arrived in Boston for the 2nd Mass Music Fest. “I’m glad to have my boys at my table, John Pope and his crew, even if I did almost not sign them, and Lourdes and Maggie, you two have brought some light we’ve all been missing. Here’s to the last leg of the Triple Crown!” He holds up his glass of wine. All three bands are gathered around the dining table that isn’t quite big enough in the Mason’s dining room, along with Tom’s business partner and girlfriend Anne Glass.

Everyone cheers at the end of Tom’s toast and they start digging into the food. Jimmy and Denny set up the cameras on tripods, they know that they’ll be in this part of the documentary, but good group shots have been hard to come by this whole time, so this is better than nothing. Lourdes is sitting between Anne and Tom, and across from Maggie who’s sitting with Isaiah in her lap. Maggie’s smiling is bigger than the sun, and everyone at the table knows it’s because she’s been reunited with her baby boy. Lourdes is talking animatedly to Anne about something and Denny can’t help but wonder what it is. When Lourdes shrieks, actually shrieks in excitement and puts her hand on Anne’s stomach and Hal just laughs at her that’s when Denny kind of figures out what’s going on. The pieces click into place when she realizes that Anne is one of the few not drinking wine, and her eyes meet Anne’s right as she pieces it all together.

“We do have a quick announcement everyone.” Anne says, clinking her fork against her water glass to gain everyone’s attention. “Tom and I just found out that we are expecting.” She smiles and Tom wraps an arm around her and kisses her forehead 

The cheers after Tom’s toast were loud, but not nearly as loud as what could only be considered a family realizing that soon they’d all have a little brother or sister to look after. There’s just something about family’s gaining another member that is always more exciting than anything to do with music festivals. Denny and Jimmy look at each other, and they realize at that moment exactly how they’re going to make all of their footage work. It’s all about family.

* * *

 

Getting ready to perform at every festival was chaotic, but getting reading for the 2nd Mass, was the most chaotic of them all. Jimmy and Denny are filming both the Fighting Masons and Skitter Bait running around the dressing room they are sharing, with various family members hanging out around them. It is pure chaos in its most chaotic and beautiful form. Tom Mason is talking to Ben, telling him something about his base. Matt is asking Anne a hundred questions about the baby. Hal is talking with Lourdes and her parents about something. Maggie is doing her hair with one hand while holding her son up with the other, they haven’t let each other go since they got off the tour bus in Boston yesterday afternoon. Jimmy and Denny both realize that they haven’t seen Maggie look this happy the whole time they’ve been following the bands until right now.

Anthony walks right into the chaos without a knock or a second thought. The moment that Hal sees him he motions around to everyone else to gather around him. There’s something about Hal, he has a presence that makes people pay attention when he says anything, or in this case makes any sort of motion, even when it’s happening in utter and complete chaos.

“The encore plan, it’s on for tonight. Let’s make this last one count everybody.” Anthony says. He’s more charismatic than usual and as everyone cheers in response, Denny is glad she managed to turn her camera fast enough to get all of it on tape.

Anthony runs out and the Mason boys start to grab their mic packs and are ushered out of the dressing room just as quickly as everyone is moving around. It’s show time, and this is the final show, the last one, the last leg, the one to make it count. Denny runs after them, holding her camera recording the whole way.

* * *

 

“These are the things, the things we lost  
These are the things we lost in the fire fire fire.” All three Mason boys harmonize together on stage, singing their hearts out.

This is the song they first sang on a Boston stage, and all three of them knew that it would be the perfect way to end their first Boston show since. The crowd is going wild and crazy and they all stop playing at the same time. Ben swings his base around him, and walks up to the one standing microphone, walking closer to it and grabbing it, pulling it towards him. 

“Flames – they licked the walls  
Tenderly they turned to dust all that I adore.” Ben sings.

As they finish their song and the lights go down the crowd goes wild and everyone starts applauding like crazy. The lights flash back on and only Hal is on stage, he takes the microphone and holds it up to his face, smiling big and making all the girls in the audience scream a little bit more. “We would like to welcome our good friends, and the next act to the stage. Ladies and gentlemen, we are pleased to present you with Skitter Bait!” Hal shouts in to the microphone.

He runs off stage and Lourdes and Maggie run on, moving quickly to set up all of their equipment and get ready to perform their abbreviated set of only three songs. The 2nd Mass Music Festival works a bit differently than the other festivals, they very much so believe in the fast and furious approach to festival life.

Denny and Jimmy stay in the wings filming all the songs that Maggie and Lourdes are singing. They choose crowd favorites for obvious reasons, and the crowd is loving it. They are dancing and singing along, screaming at the top of their lungs, freaking out whenever they do something cool with harmonies or music.

The crowd goes even crazier when they get halfway through their third and final song and both Lourdes and Maggie are running around the stage. It takes them a few minutes, it even takes Jimmy and Denny a few minutes to realize just who is playing the keyboard, it’s Hal. 

“Say my name  
We are shining  
Say my name” Lourdes and Maggie sing together running around the stage.

Maggie goes back over to where she placed her guitar and goes back to playing it along with the music that Hal is playing on Lourdes’ keyboard. Lourdes takes her microphone and walks over to Hal, he looks at her and just smiles as he keeps playing. 

“Say my name  
And we will never be afraid again.” Lourdes sings, directly to Hal, and she moves closer to him. Their foreheads touch as the lights go down, and the crowd screams even more.

* * *

 

The Berserkers sing the song they sung three years ago when Dai had his accident. The crowd goes wild and everything goes fine. They all look relieved. Denny and Jimmy have started packing up their equipment as the lights go down, they don’t normally film the Berserkers encores. When they see Maggie running on stage with Isaiah in her arms, they know something is up and when Hal and Lourdes run after them hand in hand, they take their cameras back out.

The first cords and drum beats of ‘I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,’ the Berserkers first big hit, the song that put them on the map starts playing. As the lights come up, Denny, Jimmy, and the rest of the crowd see all three bands standing on stage. Everyone is cheering louder than Denny or Jimmy thought possible, and it only gets worse as they start to sing. 

“I could stay awake just to hear your breathing  
Watch you smile while you are sleeping  
While you’re far away and dreaming  
I could spend my life in this sweet surrender  
I could stay lost in this moment forever  
Every moment spent with you  
Is a moment I treasure.” Maggie sings, with Isaiah in her arms. The crowd goes wild, happy to see a mother reunited with her son after so long.

All three bands sing the chorus the together, the few members that are not drummers (i.e. Matt and Lyle) meet in the center as they sing the chorus, swaying back and forth. John Pope even graces the audience with a small but bright smile. 

“Laying close to you  
Feeling your heart beating  
And I’m wondering what you’re dreaming  
Wondering if it’s me you’re seeing  
Then I kiss your eyes and thank God we’re together  
And I just want to stay with you  
In this moment forever, forever and ever.” Ben and Matt sing together. During the chorus they’d dragged Anne and Tom on stage from the wings and the two of them are slow dancing and smiling while they listen to them sing.

All three bands sing the chorus together again, this time with Tom and Anne joining them (albeit without mics), the crowd hasn’t stopped singing along with them since the song began, and they’ve even started holding up lighters and phones to try and make the stadium covered in a soft swaying light. All the rest of the musicians stop playing and the lights go down after the chorus, everyone in the crowd is confused – until Anthony and Tector start playing guitar and a picture of Dai’s face is projected across the back of the stage. The lights come back on and Pope is standing with Dai’s six-year-old daughter in his arms. 

“I don’t wanna miss one smile  
I don’t wanna miss one kiss  
I just wanna be with you  
Right here with you, just like this  
I just wanna hold you close  
I feel your heart so close to mine  
And just stay here in this moment  
For all the rest of time.” Pope sings. Dai’s daughter is smiling and crying. There probably isn’t a dry eye in the audience. It is no secret that Dai wrote this song about his little girl, and every band member, and Denny and Jimmy can’t help but wish that he was there to sing this to her himself.

The music starts playing softer, and everything gets more acoustic and the spotlight turns to focus on Lourdes and Hal, both of whom have just been standing near her keyboard, as she plays it and he plays his guitar. 

“Don’t wanna close my eyes  
I don’t wanna fall asleep  
‘Cause I’d miss you, baby  
And I don’t wanna miss a thing.” Hal sings to Lourdes. 

“‘Cause even when I dream of you  
The sweetest dream will never do  
I’d still miss you, baby  
And I don’t wanna miss a thing.” Lourdes sings right back to him.

Everyone else joins in for the rest of the chorus, and at first it is only Jimmy who notices that both of them have stopped singing. The two of them are just looking at each other, not playing their instruments anymore either, their foreheads are nearly touching. If Jimmy was closer to them he would hear Hal tell Lourdes that he’s ready if she is. She just smiles at him and leans in, kissing him for the world to see. The crowd already going crazy, and Jimmy is just glad he got it on camera, not necessarily for the documentary or for the bet, but for the two of them.

The stage goes dark and the cameras turn off. Denny and Jimmy are done filming and they are going to enjoy the after party to rival all after parties that always comes after the 2nd Mass Music Fest is over. When Lourdes and Hal walk backstage they are hand in hand and smiling like school children.

“It’s about damn time.” Maggie says, holding Isaiah close to her and kissing her son’s forehead.

“Just because we hadn’t told you yet, didn’t mean it wasn’t happening.” Lourdes says sticking out her tongue at Maggie and curling up into Hal.

Denny and Jimmy turn to each other, they have no idea who won the bet, but as they walk back to the dressing room, neither one can real find it in them to care all that much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was not expecting to finish this today, but I started writing and I got the writing bug and it just kind of happened like that. There is one last part, that is an epilogue of sorts and then this is done. I hope y’all enjoyed it! :)


	4. Hollywood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we find the Berserkers, the Fighting Masons, Skitter Bait, and the rest of Mason family (plus their newest addition), alongside Denny and Jimmy at the Oscars.

Lourdes Delgado was nervous, more nervous then she had been at the Grammy’s a few weeks ago with Maggie and the boys, when they’d been nominated for best collaborative performance (and won thank you very much). She held on to her boyfriend’s hand nervously as they started to announce the nominees for the category that Denny and Jimmy are nominated for.

Everyone at the table is looking nervously at each other, even John Pope, who no one even expected to come to events like these. When Denny and Jimmy had completed cutting the documentary together, they had a viewing in their loft in Boston. All the band members were blown away. They ended up sending it to Sundance and showing it there, winning some sort of award that no one really understands but the two of them. And then the Oscar nomination for best Documentary came around, and that’s why everyone is sitting around the table, more nervous than they ever imagined being, all at the prospect of the two filmmakers, who became their friends winning an Oscar.

“And the Oscar goes to…” The presenter starts, taking a long time to open the envelope. Lourdes is clutching Hal’s hand even tighter now, and he just squeezes it, trying to reassure her. “The Triple Crown, created by Denny Thompson and Jimmy Boland.”

It’s all a blur after that. They all start screaming. All the actors around them glare a bit, but that doesn’t stop them from reacting in the crazy ways that they always do. They all run up on to the stage. Denny and Ben leading the charge, with Jimmy following close behind. Anne and Tom follow all of them, Tom holding a now very awake baby Lexi in his arms. The Berserkers go, well berserk, for lack of a better descriptor and Pope even high fives Angelina Jolie on his way to the stage. Maggie, Lourdes, Hal, and Matt all run up together, finishing out the pack, Maggie holding Isaiah in her arms who is clapping like crazy.

“We just want to say thank you,” Jimmy starts, holding the Oscar, his hands over top of Denny’s.

“To the Academy for this award and to Militia records for letting us film three of their bands.” Denny adds, smiling and everyone around her.

“We would also like to thanks all of the new friends that we made in filming this, after all it wouldn’t be a documentary without them.”

“And our families for always supporting us.”

“Thank you!”

Everyone claps and it’s a mad dash to rush backstage. As they all start to run through the press line backstage, Jimmy is reminded of the dressing rooms of the all the festivals. This is just as chaotic, but it’s different, it is peaceful chaos. Once Jimmy realizes that he prefers the chaos of the festivals, he knows that maybe he just might try and go back there to film something again. One look at Denny, who is hanging off of Ben and looking at him like he is the sky and the moon and the stars, is all he needs to see to know that at the very least, he’ll be filming home movies of these guys for the rest of his life.

Lourdes is clinging to Hal and smiling brightly enough to get him smiling even more. There is something about the smile of Lourdes Delgado that Hal has always found contagious, the first day he ever met her she smiled at him; he should’ve known he was a goner then.

“Hal, Lourdes, this documentary very much so was a factor in making your relationship public, how did you feel displaying such a private part of your lives?” A reporter asks the two of them, a camera behind her to catch their answers.

“When Dad told us that people were coming in to a documentary, I had a feeling that it would all come out.” Hal says with a small, wrapping an arm around Lourdes a little bit tighter.

“Yeah exactly. We knew that the documentary would probably be the thing to bring our relationship to the public light. It brought a lot of things to the public light, and we all knew that going in. I know for myself, at least, that is part of the reason why I agreed to do it. I’m glad the world knows now.” Lourdes smiles and looks up at Hal.

He smiles back down at her and kisses her. The wave to the reporter and walk off to find Maggie and Isaiah. Hal puts the hand not wrapped around Lourdes’ shoulders and puts it in his pocket, he feels the box and smiles to himself, he hopes that Denny or Jimmy brought a camera, because he definitely is going to want to be able to play her face when he asks her on repeat for the rest of his life.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is officially it, the last part. I know it is a bit cheesy, but guess what? I do not care. I hope y’all liked it or at the very least enjoyed it! Thanks for reading! :)

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so here is chapter 1, some of the characters are a little OOC, this is only the third (?) time I have written fic since I was like a sophomore in high school (aka 5-6 years), so I do apologize if it is absolute shit. The songs that each band was singing respectively are as follows:  
> The Fighting Masons – Icarus by Bastille  
> Skitter Bait – Breath of Life by Florence + the Machine  
> The Berserkers – Back in the Saddle by Aerosmith.  
> I really hope you guys enjoyed it and there are two other full parts left and an epilogue, and I told myself I wouldn’t post this until I had at least part 2 written so, at this point this fic should at least be half done. Feel free to add kudos, comment, and subscribe if you’re feeling it :)


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